Charges dismissed against Stormy Daniels after arrest at Ohio strip club

July 12, 2018

Charges against Stormy Daniels were dismissed Thursday after the adult film actress was arrested at an Ohio strip club on charges of illegally touching a patron. Her attorney, Michael Avenatti, tweeted that the charges were "dismissed in their entirety" after he called her arrest "a setup and politically motivated." Daniels was accused of touching patrons who were undercover detectives working on a long-term vice investigation in Columbus, Ohio. Daniels has made headlines for an alleged 2006 affair with Donald Trump, before he entered politics. Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, has acknowledged paying her $130,000 shortly before the 2016 election to be silent about the matter; Daniels is suing to be released from the agreement. Avenatti thanked officials for their "professionalism" in dropping the charges.

Scroll for 5 things you need to know now↓

5 things you need to know now

With rain in the forecast, firefighters make gains against California blazes

On Sunday, firefighters continued to make progress against the Camp Fire in Northern California, the deadliest fire in state history, and the Woolsey Fire in Southern California. The Camp Fire in Butte County has killed at least 77 people, scorched 149,500 acres, and destroyed 12,786 structures. There are 993 people unaccounted for in the area, and the fire is 60 percent contained. The Woolsey Fire has burned 96,949 acres in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, destroying 1,130 structures and killing at least three people. The fire is 90 percent contained, with Cal Fire expecting full containment by Thursday. About four inches of rain is forecast for the Sierra foothills late Tuesday through Friday, and close to two inches in Southern California later in the week, which will help both firefighters and air quality but increases the risk of mudslides in burn areas.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) on Monday filed a lawsuit against Matt Whitaker and President Trump in U.S. District Court. Their argument is that Trump violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution when he named Whitaker the acting attorney general since he was not confirmed by the Senate. Prior to his appointment, Whitaker was former Attorney General Jeff Sessions' chief of staff, a job that didn't require Senate confirmation. Last week, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel argued in a memo that Whitaker's appointment was constitutional and that while "presidents often choose acting principal officers from among Senate-confirmed officers ... the Constitution does not mandate that choice."

A group of 16 House Democrats released a letter formally opposing Nancy Pelosi as the next speaker of the House on Monday. While the Democrats say they are "thankful to Leader Pelosi for her years of service," they are "committed to voting for new leadership," arguing that "Democrats ran and won on a message of change." The letter is signed by 11 current members of Congress and five members elect, although two of them haven't won their uncalled races yet, and one of them, Ben McAdams, is currently losing to his Republican opponent. Pelosi can currently afford to lose 15 Democratic votes, and has expressed confidence that she will be the next speaker.

During an interview with Fox News that aired Sunday night, President Trump said he will not listen to the tape recording of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist living in the United States, was killed last month inside the Saudi embassy in Istanbul. The Turkish government has supplied the audio, Trump told Chris Wallace, adding that listening to it won't change how he decides to respond. It's a "suffering tape, it's a terrible tape," Trump said. "I've been fully briefed on it, there's no reason for me to hear it. I know everything that went on in the tape without having to hear it." Trump said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had assured him "maybe five different times" that he had nothing to do with the murder. However, U.S. intelligence has concluded he ordered the killing.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is donating $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins University, the largest gift ever made to an educational institution in the United States. The donation was announced Sunday. Beginning next fall, the Baltimore university will be able to use the money to eliminate student loans in financial aid packages for low- and middle-income students. This gift is "unprecedented and transformative," Johns Hopkins President Ronald Daniels said in a statement. Bloomberg, one of the richest people in the world, graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1964, and said he believes that "denying students entry to a college based on their ability to pay undermines equal opportunity."